Farah leads British challenge at world championships

LONDON (Reuters) - Mo Farah will defend his 5,000 and 10,000 meters world titles on home soil next month after being named on Tuesday in Britain’s team for the world athletics championships.

The double Olympic champion in both events, who has not been defeated at either distance in a major championship since 2011, is the leading draw among 78 British athletes chosen for the event which begins on Aug. 4.

Long-jumper Greg Rutherford will also defend his crown in the same stadium where he won gold at the London 2012 Olympics, despite an ankle injury suffered last month.

Laura Muir will hope to build on her double success at the European indoor championships in the 1,500 and 3,000 meters. Promising sprinter Adam Gemili misses out on the 200 meters and will feature only in the 4x100m relay squad.

Britain won seven medals in athletics at the Olympics in Rio last year, the same number they won at the world championships in Beijing in 2015.

“This feels bigger for us than Rio,” said Neil Black, the performance director for British Athletics.

“We’ve selected some incredibly talented athletes, and in many events there have been some close calls. It’s now up to them to grasp this opportunity and produce performances that will make the whole nation proud.”